Habs aim to sign Subban before training camp

Despite an undeniably small window to get things done, Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin hopes to sign P.K. Subban before training camp start up, according to the Montreal Gazette’s Dave Stubbs.

Chances are, it won’t be easy to sign such a big-time piece of the puzzle in a week or so.

Teams like the Winnipeg Jets signed restricted free agents such as Evander Kane before the lockout – sometimes with precious little remaining time – but Subban ranks among Jamie Benn and Michael Del Zotto as noteworthy RFAs waiting for new contracts.

As you can see in this post, Subban put the onus on the Habs organization, claiming that the ball is in their court instead of his.

Yet when you look at how much Montreal depends on the 23-year-old defenseman, it’s hard to claim that he lacks any leverage. While his scoring numbers didn’t match his workload increase, Subban played a big role, averaging more than 24 minutes per game.

It’s tough to imagine him being much less integral to the Canadiens’ defense – unless he’s watching from afar without a contract.

So how much do you think he’s worth?